Zacatecas, October 24, 2025.

A working meeting was held at the facilities of the Regional World Heritage Institute in Zacatecas (RWHIZ) between representatives of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), the Zacatecas Institute of Culture “Ramón López Velarde,” and the UNESCO Category 2 Center located in Zacatecas. The purpose of the meeting was to explore potential avenues for collaboration among the participating institutions.

Representing CLIR were Dr. Guy Berthiaume, President of the Council, and Dr. Mercedes de Vega, a member of its Board of Directors. The Zacatecas Institute of Culture was represented by its Director, Ma. de Jesús Muñoz Reyes. Representing RWHIZ were Director Carlos Augusto Torres Pérez, Erika Rentería Ruiz, and Raúl E. Rodríguez Márquez.

During the meeting, Dr. Berthiaume presented CLIR's objectives, activities, and programs, as well as potential opportunities for collaboration with Mexico and the Latin American and Caribbean region. For their part, the RWHIZ representatives shared the Institute's mission, objectives, and future projects, which focus on conservation, training, and capacity building in the field of World Heritage.

At the close of the session, Dr. Guy Berthiaume extended an invitation to RWHIZ and the Zacatecas Institute of Culture “Ramón López Velarde” to participate in the next CLIR Board of Trustees meeting, to be held in 2026 in Mexico, specifically in the city of Zacatecas, as well as in a Symposium on Climate Change and Heritage Preservation, to be held in Mexico City at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) that same year. This initiative was endorsed by Dr. Mercedes de Vega, a renowned Mexican specialist in documentation and archives.

The institutions agreed on the importance of continuing to explore opportunities for cooperation to strengthen the conservation and documentation of documentary heritage, with special attention to underrepresented communities and populations, and committed to sharing the information derived from this meeting with their respective governing boards.